I got a copy of PT off the internet a couple of weeks ago. The edition that was bundled with "Soulbringer". It didn't have a manual, so I've got some questions.
Some background,,Morte and I have made it out of the mortuary and have just rested in the tomb,,I saved and exited the game.
1. There was no character generation, so are you stuck playing a fighter? I prefer to multiclass if I play a fighter, but I can deal with a straight fighter.

2. Does the game need a patch? The readme with the game says V1.1 .

3. Any tips, tricks or advice appreciated. TIA

No tips, no tricks. Not that I know of.

There are three classes you can play, Fighter, Mage, or Thief, but you ALWAYS start as a fighter.

you can be all 3 classes, but only 1 at a time
you talk to people and do quests in order to change your class.

tips:
high wisdom is important for learning things about yourself (which is what the entire game is about...)

dont worry about dieng; its almost funny sometimes

in order to change your characters alignment you have to act as a person of that alignment would (note its very hard to become lawfully good because of that)

if you dont want to die drink a very large number of blood clots which increase your resistances to various weapons; youll become almost invincible for a short time.

a wise man keeps a lot of garbage/misc junk in his backpacks because its useful in certain areas of the game...

if youve left the first building without learning how to raise the dead go back and explore more; talk to a certain undead, be nice...

you cant be a priest; only a certain party member can be; its a tease that its included as part of the dashboard spell options.

you will enjoy this most awesome game it's an oldie but a goodie

1. As already mentioned, you always start out as a Fighter, but can change to Mage or Thief by asking certain people to teach you. You can not multiclass, though.
I, and many others, think playing a Mage gets the most out of the game.

2. I believe the 1.1 version is the latest patch, at least the latest I've found. Not that the game was particularely buggy to begin with, just a some slowdowns in some areas.

3. Was has been mentioned before but I want to add that you shouldn't forget that you can talk to your fellow party members, you can learn alot about their past and some have even a trick or two to teach you. ;)

Additional tips would be to raise both wisdom and intelligence, as they help you in a variety of ways in a game that is more about brains than brawns. Also, check out Fell's Tatoo Parlour in the same area you find the Smoldering Corpse Bar. He can sell you tatoos with special powers that both you and some of your party members can equip. Make sure to return to Fell's on a regular basis as he gets new tatoos based on some of the quests you've solved.

[ 07-25-2004, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

You can play as a fighter, thief, or mage. You can switch between them if you find the right people.

Hint--unlike the BG games, In PS:T it is VERY important that your character have high intelligence and wisdom. Charisma is also of value.

You will meet your other companions during the game. The best are Daakon, Annah, Nordom, and Fall-From-Grace.

Whatever class you decide to go with, make sure you get up to level 7 and level 12 in that class, to get some excellent bonus. My tactic is to go 6 levels of fighter to max HP, then stick with mage for the rest of the game. PS:T is much less of a combat game than the other Black Isle products.

Version 1.1 is patched.

Unlike BG, you PLAY your characters alignment. Be nasty, you will turn evil. Lie, you will turn chaotic, and so on.

Oh youre very lucky. Youre just now experiencing one of the best stories Ive ever experienced in a computer game.


Ok, you will start out very confused. You dont understand whats going on. Its very weird.

Thats whats so great. Much later on, you will be reminded of how the game starts and youll go 'oh yeah'
Its very carefully constructed.

As far as power gaming goes, in general the game is set very easy. Your character can die no problem, its just a big time waster. I think playing your character as a magic user gives you the greatest experience of the game.
You will almost certainly have daakkon as one of your party members hes a fighter magic user. Basically he rocks, so experience the fighter through him. Annah is the thief... fall from grace is the only cleric, but she is after about halfway through the game.
All of the characters available are cool and interesting... but daakkon and morte have the most interesting stories so I recomend them the most.

Just curious, Elfbane, but how much was the asking price for the game? I know many people who are searching for this game and would have jumped at the chance to find it like you did. Thanks.

I paid like $25 total, including shipping. A bit high, but I got 2 games because this edition was bundled with "Soulbringer", which I know nothing about. It might be a stinker, but I'll give it a try.

Thanks for the quick reply. PS:T is not like any other RPG game you have experienced. It truly emphasizes the "Role" in play. This is why wisdom and intelligence along with charisma are more important because they open up much more of the gameplay. It is heavily involved in dialogue so pay close attention.

As for Soulbringer, do a Google search for tips, etc. It is an older game that wasn't very popular but showed some promise.

Actually I wanted to ammend one thing about the npcs to use.

Two of the characters are sort of a waste of time. One of them has bugs and was unfinished it seems to me, unlike all the others.

Its the firemage character. Although he has his own substory worth seeing, it doesnt work right. And he doesnt have a lot to say, and hes basically the weakest npc, or one of the weaker ones.

Another boring character is the suit of armor character, although it is quite possibly the most powerfull npc. Its just, its only there for a short while anyway.

So as far as the npcs go, the other ones are all very interesting. There is Nordom who is very funny, morte who is very funny also. Annah has a lot to say but is probably very weak NPC. I believe you are meant to have daakkon almost throughout the whole game because he switches you from magic user to fighter. Although you can play the game without him I think U are meant to have him through the whole game. Later in the game... you absolutely must do the Morte back to hell quest its a mind blower.

The game has lots of professional quality voice acting... I mean.. lots. hours. Its cool to see how the NPCs talk to eachother.

[ 07-29-2004, 04:36 PM: Message edited by: the mighty stamar ]

Actually the firemage can be VERY interesting, it just that his dialouge is VERY infrequent - but when its there it adds a LOT to the game. Additionally, the substory worked fine for me..

Morte on the otherhand gets tiresome quickly - still, I tend to hang onto him untill Nordom is available - then I make a "deal" involving Morte in the "high class neighborhood".. But the first time through I'd stick with him.